A Different Beginning
by Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
Summary: Lief cannot lie any more. He has to tell them. Fortunately, the Belt of Deltora can help in many ways. The Amethyst to calm, the Topaz to sharpen the mind, the Diamond to give strength and aid the cause of true love. Wait, love?


**_Okay, here I am. Sorry, but this AN will be a bit boring for you if you come from the Deltora Quest section of this site. This is mainly just a message to the readers of my other stories._**

 ** _New fandom, yeah. I loved Deltora Quest ever since I was a child, and I've recently had the chance to read it in English (I read it four times in Italian when I lived in Italy). This is a oneshot, so I'll be back to my other stories soon. I am not used to write for this fandom yet, so I probably won't start epic stories yet. Yet. I love the books and I'm probably going to write more DQ fanfics._**

 ** _This being said, hello to you if you come from the Deltora Quest section of this site. My name is Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh, but you can call me Khor. I'm a decent writer of fanfictions who has time to spare and loves to write. That's all you need to know about me, I guess. I noticed how the DQ section seems to have pretty few stories (504, last I checked) and how most of them date back to 2013-2014, so I decided to help the fandom a little with this oneshot. I might write other stories, but this will remain as it is. This takes place at the start of the 9th book, the Cavern of Fear, first book of the Shadowlands trio. Here it's slightly different, of course. I hope you enjoy!_**

They had done it. Eventually, after sixteen years of oppression from the Shadow Lord, Deltora was once again free, and once again the Shadow Lord had been pushed back in the Shadowlands. Poverty and misery still plagued the kingdom, but with the source now gone, Deltora could finally begin to heal, and they surely weren't just going to sit back and leave the people on their own.

He should've been happy that their quest was finally over, and that the kingdom was finally free, and he was. He genuinely was: after all, he had been one of the three who had to visit Deltora's most dangerous places in order to bring said freedom. However, with the salvation of Deltora came something else as well, his coronation. He would go from Lief of Del, a hero but still the son of a blacksmith, to King Lief of Deltora, a hero and monarch of the whole kingdom, the son of the late King Endon and Queen Sharn.

About that, he was not happy, which was why he was sitting on the wall of the palace, watching the city of Del, with Barda on his left and Jasmine on his right. As if sensing his displeasure, Filli was on his shoulder instead of Jasmine's, twittering in an attempt of comfort he really appreciated. Kree was flying above them, as usual never shutting up for a second, but the three human companions of the group were silent.

It seemed all so surreal. Just up until a few weeks before, the city was full of Grey Guards and servants of the Shadow Lord, and of desperate people who thought their future had held nothing but misery. But now the city was full of hope and life, as if a few dozens days of freedom had been enough to dispel almost seventeen years of oppression. Only three people, them, knew just how much it had taken to save Deltora, from enduring the harsh days of travelling, to facing the challenges of the Guardian of each gem.

And, last but surely not least, surviving the palace life.

To be honest, Lief and his companions were finding that to be as hard as the quest to retrieve the seven gems of Deltora. Handling meetings, complaints, suggestions, all the while surveying the rebuilding of Del, was driving Lief insane, much to Doom's barely conceived amusement, and his friend's obvious concern.

Not like he was the only one, though.

Jasmine was the one who suffered from it the most, having grown up in the Forests of Silence, free as the wind and the woodland creatures, but Lief and Barda alike felt suffocated in the palace too. Lief had lived his whole life free in the city, running from Grey Guards and living in a simple house – the forge. And Barda had spent the previous sixteen years living as a beggar and Lief's bodyguard. All three of them had lived on the road for almost an entire year, during the quest to retrieve the seven gems of Deltora. The life of the palace was like a slow poison to them. A continuous, slow poison they were fed every day.

They had faced uncountable dangers and challenges, yet any of them would've gladly faced said perils again rather than remain closed in the palace.

It had been weeks. Long, long weeks where they had barely seen each other, if at all. Weeks of assassination attempts to Lief's life, much to everyone's worry. But most of all, weeks of strain for them. Jasmine, who knew nothing of how to handle politics, had been forced to handle meetings, even on her own, while Barda trained the new recruits and acted as 'royal messenger' at times. And Lief… Lief had the burden of being the King of Deltora on his shoulders.

Weeks of being apart. Weeks of secrets.

That was the true reason as why they were sitting there, waiting for the right words to come to them. They were all tense. After Barda had come back with the news of the now deserted Noradz, they had had a meeting with Sharn and Doom on what they were going to do. And in the end, they had decided to do nothing.

But they, in their hearts, disagreed. Only one thing was stopping them from just talking about it and finding a solution, and said thing was… their secrets. A team like theirs was too reliant on trust, and their secrets destroyed that trust.

And that was why those secrets had to go.

Lief knew he had to be the first to start. It wasn't a matter of courage, nor of impatience, but a matter of practicalness. He wore the Belt of Deltora. He could use the Topaz to sharpen his mind, the Diamond to gather his strength, and the Amethyst to calm himself. He had to start taking down the walls they had built between themselves. The walls _he_ had begun to build, and that just that day Jasmine had apparently reinforced.

He almost laughed. Well, Barda was right. He and Jasmine were really the troublemakers. Well, if they were, then it was only fair for them to be the ones who had to bring down those walls of secrecy.

Taking a deep breath, he clutched the Amethyst and began. "It's been a while since we last talked, hasn't it?"

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best start as Jasmine stiffened beside him. "Not for lack of trying on our side," she snapped irritably.

She was right, of course she was. However, there were things he had to do, and secrets he had to keep. Secrets that had shut him off from them. Secrets he hoped he could get rid of soon. "I know, and I'm truly sorry. My duty as King of Deltora kept me away from you for far too long." He winced, as he knew that his duty as king would probably keep him away for longer still. "You know I've been avoiding you, you can read me too well. And you have every right to be angry, but it was necessary."

"Why would that be, your Majesty?" huffed the girl on his right, while the man on his left just stayed silent. He had long since learned never to butt in in their arguments, as it never bode well for him.

Lief felt his shoulders drop at the title, something he had asked Jasmine not to call him time and again. He deserved the jab, sure. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. "I'm sworn to secrecy on some matters, but I do want to inform you of whatever I can," he confessed guiltily. The Emerald was still shiny, but less so than a moment before. He was treading on dangerous terrain. The gem could tell him how far he could go without risking to break his oath.

"Well then, I confess I'm pretty curious about what you're doing, all day closed in the library," Barda spoke up, keeping his eyes fixed on the city of Del. "Whatever you're researching, it must be pretty important."

"It might hold the solution to the problem of my attempted assassinations," revealed the boy, immediately making both his friends stare at him with shock and plain interest. "As you know, the Belt can only be worn by an heir of Adin. We are searching for other heirs in the kingdom."

"How is that possible? Shouldn't it be a _direct heir_?" asked Jasmine.

"As far as I remember, the Rules states that the King must have only one child, as per tradition," added Barda, recalling his days as palace guard. "You won't find anything like that. And besides, the royal bloodline should be easily found. I'm sure the palace is full of documentations about the past rulers of Deltora."

"This is what we thought too, at first," nodded Lief, clutching the purple gem tighter to call upon its calming powers. The Emerald was still sparling. "But just as our hopes began to dwindle, we remembered that Adin had _five_ children, not one, and all of them married Torans."

Jasmine's and Barda's eyes widened at the news, but it was the man who replied. "You mean… there could be an heir in Tora?"

"That's why you wanted to go to Tora?" asked Jasmine, frowning as she remembered the extremely brief conversation they had that night. "Why didn't you go then?"

"Doom noticed how tired I was, and forced me to rest, saying that like this I couldn't help anyone. We should set off tomorrow," answered Lief as his fingers moved to the Diamond, gem of strength. "And I decided that I should use this time trying to amend for avoiding you two."

Jasmine scoffed and looked away, but at least she didn't snap back. Barda merely allowed him to continue.

"I want to tell you, I really do. Doom thinks that we should keep it a secret, but I _know_ I can trust you. After all, we are the ones who rebuilt the Belt in the first place. However, he made me swear, I can't tell you everything." Lief searched for the right words for a few seconds. "If we find what we're looking for, it would mean that…"

"You'd be free to go in the Shadowlands to free the slaves," Barda finished for him. "Or at least, you could stop worrying about your life. If the Shadow Lord learns that killing you will no more condemn Deltora, he will stop trying to assassinate you and you will finally be free from the palace… like you wanted ever since you became king."

"And after the safety of Deltora is no more relying on one frail life, I will have more time to search for a way to free the slaves in the Shadowlands." Lief turned to Jasmine and grabbed her arm. "I haven't forgotten about them, nor will I ever. I cannot risk all of Deltora to free them, but if our search is successful, we might find a way."

Jasmine remained stiff, but some of the anger left her posture. "So those papers you were reading, the ones about the great families of Tora, were to find an heir?" she asked tensely.

"How did you know that?" asked Lief. A look told him he wasn't going to receive any answer to that question. "I… yes. And we believe to have found our heir. However, I cannot tell you anything more, I'm sorry."

"We do not need the specifics," Barda waved his apology aside as if it was written in the air beside him. "This surely does explain a lot of things…"

"I was also thinking of _really_ leading an army to the Shadowlands," continued Lief, earning looks of surprise from the two. "If I were to leave the Belt behind, to my heir, I would be able to cross the border without endangering Deltora. However, thanks to Jasmine, that man, Josef, has told me about the Pirran Pipe. I'm sure we will be able to find it… if you want to come with me, of course."

"Letting you go alone would probably result in disaster," snorted Barda, smacking his back. "Of course we're coming. We can't let you go on your own, after all."

Lief turned to Jasmine, but she too seemed to share Barda's feelings. However, there was something else in her gaze. An uncertainty he hadn't noticed before. "Jasmine…?"

She shook her head as if to clear it before she nodded determinedly. "Of course we're coming with you. We have to be there to save your life, don't we?"

Lief smiled and returned to look at the city, but a feather-light touch on his arm made him turn again. "Is there something else?"

Apparently, there was. She bit her lip anxiously. "Well, since you decided to share your secrets… I guess I just wanted to do the same. Not like I have to, of course, I just think it'd be better this way!" she hurried to add. Barda hid a chuckle behind a cough, but the action still got Jasmine's eyes to narrow dangerously.

"Please, go on," urged the man, sweating a little under one of her famous glares. She _was_ Doom's daughter, after all.

She moved her glare from Barda to Lief. "Why didn't you tell me of Faith?"

His reaction, however, was not the one she had expected. Instead of surprise, denial, or anger, he just seemed confused. "Who?"

"Faith," she repeated, her voice low and dangerous again. "My little sister, the one enslaved by the Shadow Lord."

Lief's eyes went wide in shock and he grasped her shoulders, making her turn completely. "You have a sister?! And she is in the Shadowlands?! Why didn't you tell-"

"Do you still try to deceive me even after you said you wanted to reveal your secrets?" she said with venom. "I know, Lief, she told me what you did."

Lief was at loss of words. Out of sheer instinct, he pressed his hand to the central gem of the Belt, the Topaz. Suddenly he knew what he had to do. Instead of further questioning her, he detached the Belt from his waist and laid it on his lap. Laying a hand on the Amethyst, and the other touching both the Diamond and the Emerald, he turned to Jasmine. "Jasmine, I swear on the Belt of Deltora that I have no idea of who or what you are talking about, nor of what you are accusing me of," he stated firmly. "Look. I am touching the Amethyst, gem of Truth, as well as the Diamond and the Emerald, gems of Purity and Honour. I am not lying."

She stared at him for a very long time before she finally spoke, and when she did, she did so in a whisper. "I'm sorry. I thought…"

"Jasmine, please, tell me why you think I knew of your sister." Lief laid a hand on her arm in a comforting manner. "And don't fear, we will save her."

With a shuddering sigh, she recounted all what had happened, shrinking in shame when she told him how she had ignored his orders. However, he did not appear angry, quite the opposite. He only seemed disappointed in himself. Finally, he spoke. "I'm sorry, Jasmine, I should've warned you better. I do not know anything about your sister. I gave those orders because that crystal is the one the Shadow Lord used to communicate with his servants, the Chief Advisors, before we pushed him back into the Shadowlands. I feared for whoever stumbled upon that crystal."

"But what about my sister?" Jasmine asked desperately.

"I… I think we should ask Doom." Seeing her expression, he put up a hand. "Think about it. If he can't tell us anything, then there's a chance, but if he has… if he has _seen_ your mother die, then we must accept the fact that Faith might be one of the Shadow Lord's lies."

"But what if she's real?" she continued.

"Then we'll go immediately. You said you might've found a way to reach the Shadowlands, and we need to find the Pirran Pipe. We can still do it. Let's go." He wore the Belt again and hopped off the wall. Had Faith turned out to be real, Doom would've had to go to Tora on his own. Lief, Barda and Jasmine had been the three… sorry, Lief, Barda, Jasmine, Filli and Kree had been the five to retrieve the seven gems of Deltora. They were ready for another quest.

"Wait."

Surprised, he turned around, allowing Barda to bypass him and disappear in the palace. Jasmine wasn't looking at him, instead staring at the horizon. "What is it?"

She didn't immediately reply, so he returned to sit beside her and patiently waited. After a few more minutes, she reached out and placed a hand over the Amethyst. He chuckled. "Yeah, the Belt is useful at all times."

"I'm sorry for being so angry at you," she suddenly spoke up. "I thought you were going to Tora to hide there and find a bride."

He coughed in shock. "A _bride_?!"

"Well, you said it yourself, Deltora cannot depend on a single life each generation," she offered a shrug. "Besides, a Toran girl would be the perfect bride for you. Well read, beautiful, elegant, at home in the palace…"

"Jasmine, do I have to remind you that before becoming king, I lived in a palace just as long as you have? I lived in Del, Jasmine. I lived in a poor city where the palace was hated and the kings spat upon. I grew up cursing my very father's name. I am no more at home in a palace than you are. Why would I want to marry someone just because they can live in such a prison?" He hesitated before reaching out for her hand. "Besides, when I will marry, I will follow Adin's example and marry for love."

"Why wouldn't you love someone like that?" she asked. "She'd be the perfect bride for you…"

"Why wouldn't I love someone who grew up in a forest, as wild as a woodland creature, who has no interest in being polite and speaks her mind no matter what?" he rebutted with a hint of mirth in his voice. He felt her hand stiffen slightly in his hold, and caressed her skin with his thumb. "Why wouldn't I love someone who's always been by my side, and saved my life more times than I can count? Why wouldn't I love that someone?"

"Even if that someone is just a wild girl with no knowledge of the palace life, who struggles with reading and writing?" she asked in a low voice, not meeting his eyes. "Even if that someone has nothing to offer?"

"I will be happy to teach her, if she wants to learn. And you're wrong, she has so many things to offer…" As she opened her mouth to reply and continue with their little act of tiptoeing around the topic, he squeezed her hand. "The Diamond doesn't lie, Jasmine."

"What?"

Lief looked down at the brightly shining gem. "The Diamond gives strength, protects from illness, and… helps the cause of true love." He waited until his words had sunk in. "And it's shining, Jasmine."

There was a very long pause before she spoke again. "Why? I am nothing special…"

"Jasmine, it would be quicker to list the ways you are _not_ special than the ways you are." He smiled and looked at her directly. "And honestly, I'm surprised you haven't found out sooner. I thought I was being obvious."

She bit her lip and looked away. "When you grow up on your own, in a forest no one ever visits, it is kinda hard to recognize romantic hints," she explained meekly. Lief thought it was adorable to see the usually brave and stubborn girl now blushing and uncertain because of something as simple as hand holding.

"You still haven't given me my answer," smiled Lief. The Diamond just shined further.

She was silent for another long while, weighting her answer before finally speaking. "Yes."

The Diamond was shining so much it almost cast light on its own. Lief reached out with his other hand to take her other hand, but she was faster. With her usual lack of politeness, and her usual frankness, she took hold of his face and brought his mouth to hers. Lief's eyes went wide while she screwed her own shut. After a few seconds, she released the now stammering boy.

"W-What…"

"I am not done yet," she told him as she freed her hand from his. This time grabbing him with both hands, she slammed their lips back together. This time Lief was just slightly more prepared, and embraced her waist with his arms. The grin on her face when they separated told him she wouldn't be done for quite a while yet.

He found himself perfectly okay with that.

 ** _I'm a Lasmine shipper, in case you haven't noticed, and may Dain and Neridah alike burn in hell for all I care. The characters might be OoC, but as I said I'm not used to write for this fandom, so forgive me, I'll try to get better. This being said, I hope you enjoyed! ;)_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


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